Large numbers

Japanese school year: Elementary 4

What you learn

Students learn to read, write, and comprehend very large numbers such as ten-thousands, hundred-millions, and trillions by grouping digits into units of four or three. These values appear in national budgets, astronomical distances, and economics. Solid competence in place value up to ten-thousands will help you understand these massive numbers.

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Key points

This equation illustrates the progression of large number units. Units advance by factors of $10^4$ ( $10000$ ): ten-thousand ( $10^4$ ) times $10^4$ is oku ( $10^8$ ), and times $10^4$ again is cho ( $10^{12}$ ).

10^4 \times 10^4 = 10^8, \quad 10^8 \times 10^4 = 10^{12}

This rule helps in accurately reading and writing very large numbers. Grouping digits into blocks of four from the ones place aligns them with units like myriad, oku, and cho.

This expression shows the place value shift when multiplying any number $n$ by $10$ . In base-10, multiplying by $10$ shifts all digits one place to the left, appending a $0$ to an integer.

10 \times n

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Practice 1Coming soon